A common source of product damage is found in products being conveyed falling off a conveyor belt and falling into a collection bin. The first products conveyed into a bin experience the longest trajectory and impact with bin surfaces. This product, and subsequently conveyed products, then experience repeated subsequent impacts as other products continue to fill the bin. Additionally, as products are collected in a bin, the products tend to mound about the average trajectory of a product from the conveyor into the bin. This mounding affords inefficient and unbalanced fill of the bin that results in still further product damage associated with the collapse of the unstable mound, agitation to redistribute product within the bin, or mechanical raking. Products such as agricultural produce and various manufactured goods having coatings susceptible to chipping or abrasion, such as painted mechanical fasteners, are representative of the goods that suffer damage upon collection. The prevention of binning damage associated with product collection would have the effect of reducing the amount of operator control with such a conveyor system and reduce product defects.
Thus, there exists a need for a conveyor system capable of moderating the impact experienced by a product falling from a conveyor into a collection bin.